Our 4 month old daughter has grown out of her infant car seat with the nice handle on it where we hang toys for her... now we have a convertible seat with no handle to hang stuff on. We are going away for the weekend leaving this Friday afternoon. She'll only hold on to toys/rattles for a few minutes at a time, so I'm trying to find something or some way to hang toys within her reach. Any ideas?
Thank you so much for all the responses so far! I went to some of the websites that were suggested, and my husband was able to find the "Take-a-long Arch" that clips on to the carseat or stroller at Babies R'Us, and Fisher Price makes a carseat protective "pad" w/ the Rainforest themed toys attached to it that hang over the sides that make it easy for her to grab and they won't fall on the floor! I hadn't thought of using multiple links to hang toys before, so thank you for that advice as well! Maybe when she gets older and the lease is up on our vehicle, we may look into getting one that has a DVD player... Thanks again! You all are great! Love this website!
This probably won't help you for this trip, but here is my website www.DiscoveryToysLink.com/LisaRyan and you can try the links and the order the key ring set and the teethers and jangles put the links from the handles up by the windows from one side to the other(2 sets). You could probably attach the Gloworm Book to the headrest. Good Luck! If you want to flip through the actual catalog go to www.DiscoveryToysInc.com LisaM
I would not attach anything to the carseat, in accident it can cause horrible damage and it voids warranty.
Also remember that rearfacing is safer even after she turns a year old. Here are some links w/ info.
http://homepage.mac.com/Y./FileSharing32.html
Two very informative videos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2DVfqFhseo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRP7ynNI8mI
Jennifer,
Buy some Link-a-Do's. They are the best. They are the little plastic links that clip on to one another. You can create a chain, hook toys onto the chain and hand it from the handle above the door or behind the adjustable head rest of the passenger's seat. That is what I have done with all three of my kids. It works great! Enjoy your trip. Also, don't forget to take plenty of wipes, papertowels and plastic bags for trash, spills and dirty diapers.
Jennifer, I wouldn't worry too much about it. The fact that she's in a bigger, more roomier seat should be enough to entertain her delight. My baby just graduated to forward facing and I wish I had a video camera to capture his expression when I started driving away. He was so happy, he couldn't stop giggling the whole trip to pick up my daughters from school. I'm assuming your baby is still rear facing. What I have always done is put a variety of toys on my baby's lap. If they fall, they fall. Music, talking to your baby, if you can, pat her on the head from where you are sitting. Have a safe road trip.
I've got a special gizmo with pockets and attchments for toys, etc, that attaches to the back of the seat in front of her...I don't know what it's called, but I'm sure you could find such a thing at a baby superstore of maybe even improvements catalog online (www.improvements.com). They've got all kinds of great ideas for the car. That was the baby could still reach her toys without them falling to the floor. It might be as simple as tying something around the headrest and attaching the toys to it.
Hi Jennifer,
If you go to Babies R Us, they have several toys that will attach to the older car seats. We have one that is like the dashboard of a car with a steering wheel and horn, etc. It even has a remote control that you can hold in the front seat and turn off/on. It hooks on to their seatbelt.
Have a great weekend!
D.
Jennifer,
Does your car have those little clip-like things that you can hang a coat hanger on? Maybe you could tie a string/yarn/fishing line from one side of the car to the other and string the toys on that line?
I don't know if they still do or not, but they used to sell spring tension poles for cars. They were like shower curtain bars and they stretched from one side of the car to the other. Maybe you can find one of those and string the toys on it.
Just a couple offerings off the top of my head. Have a safe and fun trip!
God Bless,
S. in Titusville, FL
They sell small mesh baskets which clip onto the sides of your carseat got mine online at onestepahead.com, but maybe babiesrus carries them? I load them up with small favorite toys and even though they all usually get thrown to the floor of my car it take a while ;-)
There is a toy called a take along arch (It's made by Tiny Love or Sassy) -it has clips on the 2 ends and arches over the stroller or carseat, comes with hanging toys which you could switch out for old favorites -it has been a few years but I ordered mine from Target and I would also check One Step Ahead. I also used to use those colorful plastic links and attach toys to the metal thing holding the headrest up on the seat in the car where the car seat is and attach favorite take-along toys to those (then they couldn't drop them).
another thing you can use are those links. You clip one or more to the car seat and link some toys to the ends so if she throws them, she can retreive them by pulling on the links.
yes get a samll line or rod curtain rod and hang toys from it we get them at the dollar store and bring one out every hour for a road trip have fun
If you have the little coat hooks on each side of the vehicle like mine i went to Target and bought these little rings. You can find them in the Baby isle they can be linked together any way you like and you stretch them across and hang links down and attach toy's and you can keep chaning the toy's around so she does not get board. Also there is a bottle/cup strap in the baby isle at Walgreens it attaches to the strap on her car seat and velcro's around the cup/bottle and when she drops her bottle she can pull it back up by herself. The strap alone is a lifesaver for me when traveling with my 17 month old.
Hope these ideas help. If you need anymore help advise my e-mail is ____@____.com us mom's have to stick together and good luck with your daughter they grow so fast enjoy her while she is still little.
I'd be careful about stringing things across the car or adding a clothes pole and suspending toys from it. If for some reason there was an accident (even a small rear-ending) this could be quite dangerous!
I have a Fisher Price mirror that lights up and plays music. It attaches to the headrest (safely) and is remote controlled so that you can turn it on from the front seat. This was a life-saver for when my DD (now 2) got bored during cartrips. It usually lulled her to sleep. We are using it now for our son.
Jennifer, I'm 38 and just had a son in November (27th)! I just returned to work last week... stay in touch if you'd like. It seems we have some things in common.
T.
Mom to Katelyn, 11-11-05
and Matthew 11-27-07
When my kids were little they had rattles that you could velcro around a child's wrist...would that work? S.
